gethealthy

 Stress in unavoidable, no matter who you are.  Everyone experiences stress in different ways at different times in their life.  Sometimes stress can be a good way to keep you on your toes by giving you a good challenge.  However, it can also be harmful.  Excessive stress can have severe effects on your health and can agitate current problems including; heart disease, hypertension, stroke, depression, and sleep disorders. Researchers have even found a connection between stress and academic performance.

In a groundbreaking study, researchers from the University of Minnesota’s Boyton Health Service examined 9,931 students from 14 different 2 year and 4 years schools.   They matched grade point averages with health problems such as; stress, smoking, drinking, and lifestyle choices like excessive screen time and gambling.   They concluded that students that exhibited unhealthy behaviors had significantly lower grades than other students.

Stress was one of the largest contributing factors.  Out of the 69.9% of students who said they were stressed, 32.9% stated that stress was affecting their academic performance.

Students who reported 8 or more emotional stressors like credit card debt, failing a class, or parental issues had an average GPA of 2.72.  The students who reported little or no significant stress had an average GPA of 3.3. “While this may seem like a small difference in GPA, when you are looking at over 9,000 students the impact of this difference is huge,” said Dr. Ed Ehlinger, director of Boynton Health Services.

The study also found that the ability to handle stress was just as important.  Students who reported that they are able to handle their stress well, performed better than those who could not manage their stress.  This information is important because it can show colleges the need to supply students with the tools needed to learn to manage stress.

20% of students stated that their difficulty sleeping affected their grades.  Those who reported sleep disturbances had an average GPA of 3.08 in contrast with 3.27  for those who were able to get sufficient sleep.  “The more days a student gets adequate sleep, the better GPA’s they attain,” Dr. Ehlinger said. “There is a direct link between the two.”
In addition the study illustrated that excessive TV and computer use (not related to school) also significantly affected grades.  Students who avoided watching TV during the day carried an average GPA of 3.37, students who viewed 2 hours of TV per day dropped to 3.21, and those with 4 or more hours of TV time perday held an average GPA of 3.04 or less.  Also students who played less than an hour of video games per day held an average GPA of 3.31 and those who played for more than 5 hours a day carried a GPA of 2.98.

The same pattern was seen with binge drinking, drugs and smoking. Students who reported issues with alcohol had an average GPA of 2.92, compared with 3.28 for students who did not. The drug use gap was 2.94 versus 3.25. And students who reported smoking within the past 30 days had an average GPA of 3.12 compared with 3.28 for those who reported not smoking. “Even students who smoked once or twice in a month had lower GPA’s than those who didn’t smoke,” said Dr. Ehlinger. “Using tobacco to calm down or ‘to be social’ is lowing students’ grades.”

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